An ode to Coffee
a.k.a. "You must respect The Bean"

Recently the Hilltop Echo (my school newspaper) sported an article on Coffee, specifically the popularity, brewing, and drinking there of. This article, though well written and well referenced, contained a few errors, and did not quite convey the Passion with which a true coffee aficionado imbibes the, dare I say, sacred beverage known as Coffee. If you drink coffee from a can (horrors) or if you enjoy a bracing cup of hot McDonald's gourmet brand coffee, this treatise is not for you, stop reading now, and stop pretending that you are a Coffee Drinker!

Selecting the Bean
Coffee starts with The Bean. This must be meticulously grown, picked and carefully roasted to perfection. There are many sources of quality roasted Coffee beans, I prefer Baltimore Coffee and Tea (www.baltcoffee.com) or Peets (www.peets.com). Flavored Coffees are anathema and do not respect the bean. Spare me your vanilla, hazelnut, amaretto flavorings; they serve only to mask the rich, full flavor of The Bean. Choose a nice Columbian, Italian Roast, French Roast, Guatemala Antigua, or Kenya AA Blend. I buy my coffee and then place the unopened, vacuum packed beans in the freezer to keep them fresh. Once frozen, however, you must not let the coffee sit out at room temperature, lest condensation should occur, this would have a deleterious effect on the freshness of The Bean.

The brewing process requires specialized equipment, lest you disrespect The Bean. Necessary equipment includes a coffee grinder, high quality coffee filters, a coffee pot for brewing, high quality water (no tap water please) and a mug for drinking. Read on and learn how to make a Good Cup of Coffee.

Grinding the Bean
Do not buy ground coffee. You must respect The Bean - grind the coffee just prior to Brewing. If you do not use the freezer to keep your beans, then for heaven's sake invest in an airtight container, and only buy enough coffee for 1 week at a time. The purist would claim that The Bean must be hand ground. It is a quiet, contemplative activity, promoting a Zen like state and a nice even grind. The Bean definitely likes the hand crank coffee grinder. An electric grinder is acceptable. The coffee grinder should ONLY be used to grind coffee and should be wiped clean after each session.

Choosing the Coffee Maker
The proper vessel must be used - do not look to Walmart or Target for the correct tool, it will not be found there. Truly the best vessel to use, and the one The Bean prefers, is a Melitta (not Melinda) Porcelain 6-cup MANUAL coffee pot. Yes, they still exist and they do NOT plug into the wall.

Alternatives are the Chemex, and the French Press. If you must use an electric coffee maker, look for a Melitta, Krups, or Cuisinart CONE drip coffee machine in a 4-6 cup size. Unless you are having a 'gathering', brewing 12 cups of coffee will only result in stale, burned coffee. Brew as much as you will drink at a sitting, burned coffee is anathema, and does not show the proper respect to The Bean!

Preparing the Brew
Once ground the devotee must then prepare to Brew. Fill your coffee pot with hot water to warm it up, in preparation for the coffee. Place your filtered or bottled water in the tea pot of your choice and proceed to boil it. Place a quality filter in the filter basket. Melitta makes earth friendly bamboo filters, natural unbleached filters, or standard filters. Avoid using cheap filters and no name brands - they will not show the proper respect for The Bean! Once the water is ready, pour it along the sides (not down the center) of the coffee filter. Take your time, be patient, you will get a more harmonious outcome. Enjoy the rich aroma of the coffee wafting its way upward. Once all the water has dripped through the filter basket, remove it and put the lid on the pot.

Drinking the Brew
With forethought, respect and patience you have brewed The Bean to perfection. You have used the proper materials and you are now ready to enjoy your Coffee. Resist the temptation to pour it into one of those "drink and go" thermal cups, rather, sit down and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Obtain a fine porcelain cup or a hand made stoneware mug, look heavenward, offer up a little prayer, pour your coffee, sit in a comfortable chair and drink it with leisure and appreciation, as it is a supreme gift of the Gods and deserves no less!

What I did This Summer

I feel like the kid going back to school, and the teachers says "OK class, I want a 1-page paper about what you did this Summer". I got news 'teach' one page just won't do it!

Of course, you know about the great western adventure / road trip. After that experience, I had to regroup and find my true center -- FIBER. Yep -- there's nothing like the feel of wool, mohair, silk, alpaca, running through your fingers, being spun, plied, dyed. It's an addiction, a true obsession with me, and I proved it this Summer.

As summer was arriving, I was putting the finishing touches on Spinning the Wool/Alpaca blend From Ramifications for Jim's sweater (Which I called Skippin Stones), while simultaneously spinning up the FreeneCreek Farm Merino with the Craftsman Hill Mohair which I had just finished blending, while at the same time, spinning some cormo/angora blend from Valley Mill Fibers on the drop spindle. (YES I'm NUTS)

The Merino/Mohair project would not be finished until September (it amounted to around 4 pounds of yarn -- which is a lot even for me). Meanwhile, June set in and it was time to start (and finish) spinning the wool for Nick's sweater (which I called PussyWillow for its light gray softness!). I'm still not sure what to call the Cormo/Alpaca blend, but I'm saving this 8 oz for something special.

July was here before I knew it and I had to start Jim's Tomten Jacket. It is now October and I am almost done with sleeve #1 and have only to do the second sleeve and the edging before starting on Nick's Tomten. BTW -- the only change I'm using from Brooklyn Tweed's Adult Tomten is the neck shaping! OHHH but I'm not finished YET!

One lovely day in July I took a trip out to French Creek Fiber Arts, and Peggy had some truly DARK Border Leicester for sale. Hmmmm only $22 / pound ... Thought about it a few days, went back and bought 2 pounds worth. Wouldn't this look nice blended with the Gold and the Turquoise dyed mohair I got from the SheepShedStudio in Wyoming??? Oh yes -- it surely would! So I grabbed the hand carders, a chunk of Wool, a chunk of Gold Mohair, a chunk of Turquoise Mohair (notice the CAREFUL measurements) carded them together, grabbed the drop spindle, spun up a swatch's worth -- and VOILA -- a new yarn called Aggy Taw (for playing marbles)

But then, (thought I) -- I have a whole bunch of silk, fine Australian Merino, and white alpaca (which I nearly felted while trying to wash it) -- That might make a nice combination too ..... I'm still searching for a name for this one.

So now I have all these bags of small measured balls of fiber blends. It really looks like candy up there in the fiber room. Special note: ALL fiber in small, wrapped blended balls must be kept safely away from feline frolicking -- or you KNOW what happens, yep, all my careful measuring and winding does nothing but provide really interesting toys for cats, particularly Sake -- I'm quite careful to shut the door to THAT room now!

August inevitably arrives, sigh. I think I'll treat myself to this lovely merino top that I bought a few years ago from Woodland Woolworks. I had one pound that was dyed multiple colors of red, purple, burgundy with a dash of orange and named (appropriately) Mohave, and 1 pound of the burgundy color (really more purple than burgundy). The plan was to spin the mohave and ply it with the plain. So I brought the Rose outside to spin while Lou and Jim (oh btw -- Jim spend 2 weeks in August with us , and Nick kept driving up to stay between work shifts--) worked on the porch roof gutters, and low and behold -- my beautiful TREAT fiber was lifeless! There were no natural oils left, it was stiff and stretched, and did not want to spin at all. I tried making a grease concoction (which I think might make a very nice lotion with its combination of lanolin, olive oil, water and soap flakes) and spraying it on, it was better, but not good. I had to PONDER a while. Lou suggested I blend it -- like I don't already have enough to blend! But he was right. I tried out a sample. Blend the Mohave with some Corriedale from French Creek Fiber Arts, and blend the plain with Twister (corriedale from Sharon at Ramifications) -- it turned out so nice that I immediately measured out all the little 'blend balls' and will call it Cherry Cordial.

Ahhh but I'm still not done. August dwindled down, Jim and Nick went to their respective homes, and School started! 12 - 15 hours a day of fiber fun had come to an end. Remember the Merino Mohair blend I was working on??? Finished and ready to dye, remember the BRIGHT yellow superwash I bought in Wyoming (lou wanted yellow socks -- eh gads), and the undyed super wash??? Oh yes -- time for a weeking of dyeing. Lou was gone for a 2 day shoot in September and I geared up for 2 glorious days of color! First I kettle dyed 5 batches of the spun merino/mohair mix.

I have 5 skeins of each color (Navy, Violet, Red, Teal, Turquoise) Whew -- turned out nice though.

Day 2 of Dye Weekend I dyed MOST of the yellow with blue (turning it a nice olive green) and did two batches of 12 oz of fiber using a hot pour method -- one with reds, and one with blue/purple -- See for yourself!. The Blues and Reds I spun up into North Woods, and Struberry Jam! Shelly bought enough North Woods to make a pair of Socks, and I am using some of each of them to make socks for myself!

So Shelly, What do ya think??? Did I blog or didn't I!!! I have been remiss. Sometimes you get so caught up in what you are doing, that you forget there are other things to do as well -- like blogging!

Days 9-11 Going Home

Just one little glitch on the trip home; after spending the night in Laramie Wyoming Tuesday, we had to drive into Cheyenne and get the oil changed. It afforded us a nice breakfast, and a slow start to the day. Strangely enough, we stopped to sleep at all the SAME places -- Winnemucca NV, Laramie WY, Grinnelle IA -- funny.

Nevada Cows vs Nebraska Cows
Nevada cows really have to spread out to find some grass to eat amidst all the sage brush. No clumping together in one big cow mass for them. Nebraska cows like to mill around together, there's plenty of grass, so they don't really wander far apart.

Nevada and Sage Brush
Nevada is just one huge sage brush factory. It's a pity we can't use it to make alternative fuel or something. Lou suggests we grind it up and sell it to China as a rare, healing herb.

I figure the only really useful feature about Nevada is that if you wanted to conduct covert activities and/or avoid EPA inspections -- you're all set! You see signs in Nevada that speed is enforced by aerial inspection -- Duhhh! pick a road to watch, and you'll only see one or two guys a day! Besides the entire state is a speed trap.

Living Dangerously
In Coalvile, UT there is this house/farm right at the base of a huge earthen dam. How'd ya like to live there, your yard is walled of by a 30 foot earth bank and a spillway at the far end. When would it crack and flood your world? Oh probably at about 2:00 a.m. on a cold winter's night with no visible moonlight, in the rain! That would be just TOO much fun!



Final Thoughts
"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your front door" quoth Bilbo Baggins.

Three to Four 10-12 hour days in a car can teach you that you can feel pain in all kinds of weird new ways.

Food on the road sucks -- just stick to salad with grilled chicken for dinner, and nuts and Lattes for breakfast/lunch.

Don't give in to the mad desire to hang out the car window, waving your arms madly and screaming incoherently.

Have an Ipod FULL of more music than you could possibly listen to.

Buy a new car just before leaving so you can listen to XM 151 -- the comedy chanel, just for a change of pace (you'll get a 30 day free trial if you're lucky -- it's not worth the $10/month)

Bring lots of stuff to do/read, even if you don't use it, just knowing it's there for you is a comfort. Hell just thinking about it is a time filler.

Bring a computer and blog the trip with photos and witicisims. Just remember -- don't blog late at night, you won't be funny and you'll leave stuff out and make spelling errors. If you send everyone you know the blog address, just keep in mind that they might start making requests -- mistaking blogging for other forms of entertainment.

NEVER look too far ahead when travelling. Enjoy the moment and remember the words of Harry Chapin "Its got to be the going, not the gettin there that's good"

Day 8 Old Sacramento and Back on the Road

Jun had to fly back to L.A. -- work on Monday -- Bummer! We decided to wait to depart until Monday early evening -- that would get us back to Winnemucca -- which is as good as any place to stop.



We decided to bum around Old Sacramento -- there was a hat shop there that Lou wanted to visit -- get a new straw hat for summer cowboy shoots. It was fun, a weird combination of old store fronts and modern architecture in the background. A few old timey shops, but mostly just junk, tourist stuff. The hat shop, however did not disappoint, and there were a few candy shops that provided some goodies.










Once finished in Old Sacramento, we
toodled off back to Davis, had an early dinner / late lunch at Dos Coyotes, packed up the car and headed off homeward bound, with a promise to call Jim each evening when we settled down.

Day 7 Just Chillin

Walking at Davis -- she look like she's leading him to you???

So, OK, it was 95 degrees, in the height of the day, but it's a DRY heat -- so you hardly feel it!


These ducks were actually hanging out in the shade -- guess they thought it was hot too, and for them it's more of a wet heat.

We were actually lucky to get this cactus flower, and I was lucky not to slide down the hillside into the algae coated stream!

I was tempted to try and smell it, but the journey was fraught with danger (including the pricklies on the cactus).

A welcome respite in a beautiful Gazebo. Jim is trying to avoid having his picture taken (so what else is new!)

Jun and Dad, resting in the shade. I'm saying WHERE are the horses already!!!

Lou was constantly off gathering some fresh grass for these beauties to nibble on. I did not get a SINGLE picture of that! (slaps hand to forehead)

Day 6 Wine Country with the Kids

Getting the antiques was a great relief. Once they were safely stored in Jim's garage, we were free to have some fun with the kids. We only had the weekend, but that's ok, it's the quality not the quantity that counts.

Saturday was Wine country and then a FABULOUS dinner at La Provence (http://laprovenceroseville.com/). Jim and Jun checked it out last year, while trying to decide on a restaurant for the rehearsal dinner. They felt it would be a little pricey, so Lou and I decided it would make for a nice, just the four of us, place to eat. We only visited a few vintners in wine country, Hess was definitely the best of the two, and that's where all the pics are from.


Sunday we just hung out in Davis. Jim took us on a nice long walk at the university, culminating in a visit with some very nice horses. Lou went scrounging all over the place to give them a few handfuls of fresh grass, not a mean feat since they keep the grounds so well groomed! The horses really appreciated it though and kept walking over to where ever Lou was! (pics to follow)

Day 5 -- Off to Oregon

Not the best picture of Lake Shasta, but trees and things kept getting in the way.

Never a disappointment -- Shasta in the distance!




Well, once you reach your destination, it seems you are busier than a 1-armed paper hanger! We got in to Davis mid-day Thursday, and were off to the Wilds of Oregon at 5:00 a.m. the next morning. We WERE well rested, though and it was a beautiful day for traveling.

Jim was happy to stay in bed and wait for us to get home later that day, he stopped being a morning person a long time ago.

First stop in Oregon was Ramifications, and my good friend Sharon Allen. She has -- you guessed it FIBER! I had her holding some dark wool with bits of red/blue/lavender for me and I told her I'd buy all she had (around 5 'bumps'). I was going to be a good girl, but Lou said "is that all you're getting??? We traveled 3,000 miles and that's ALL you're gonna buy???" You don't have to tell me twice, I bought all she had of a blend she calls "oatmeal" and her remaining 3 bumps of black sheeps wool from Twister. While we were visiting a friend dropped by to store some fiber for the Black Sheep Gathering later in June, which gave us a chance to snap a few pictures. And to think we were traveling on Friday the 13th!

Once we left Sharon's with my loot, it was off to Kalamath Falls, and Joan's Antique heaven. Believe it or not, we managed to get a civil war desk, a railroad desk cabinet, and a chimney cupboard tucked safely into the new Element. Cool. It was a tight fit, and we won't be able to recline the seat for napping, but -- a small price to pay for such lavish pieces!


It was a long day, and I was a zombie by the end of it, but the fun is just beginning, Jun flew in at around 10:00 p.m. and Saturday/Sunday is just for the family.

More later.